Illusion Of Power Behind A Global Movement

‘Another World Is Happening’ – Occupy Wall Street Anniversary Interview

Interview with David DeGraw (co-founder 99% movement)

Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, interviews David DeGraw about the birth and evolution of Occupy Wall Street on its one year anniversary: "This is about empowering a new generation to be leaders, to be engaged.... We have millions of people engaged in creating change that were not engaged and creating change a year ago.... Occupy globally is the big bang of humanity's next phase of evolution. It created this wild new ecosystem of mass transformation. Millions of people turned on, let out of the propaganda cage. The first step is that you have to open the prison door so people can come flying out and realize that we can change things. You say another world is possible. Now, another world is happening."

 Click the link to listen to the interview. Or click the picture below.




Additional links:
AmpedStatus - Knowledge Is Power
The TYT Network
The Young Turks on Youtube

Young people are learning that if the older generation or even their peers refuse to listen to them, then it's time to simply move on. If no one is willing to hear what you have to say, stop cooperating with them. Stop treating them as if they are the important ones - the only ones that matter. They are only as long as you make them or empower them. They are only bankrupt parasites.

--Joe

Personhood and the Police

[UPDATE Below - Recognizing Personhood from little gods - What it means to be an American Elite]

Law enforcement officials frustrated with Occupy signs

This is today's Times-Standard frontpage headline for Friday, March 9, 2012. "Law enforcement" being Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey and the so-call "Interim Eureka Police Chief Murl Harpham.

This title actually misrepresents "law enforcement's" real frustration. Their issue is really with the District Attorney and the fact they don't have carte blanche or the full discretionary power and unconditional authority to eradicate the Occupy people from Eureka's streets at will. Be assured they are diligently working on a so-called legal solution to rectify that problem and solidify their State police power authority.

We all know their history dealing with the local Occupy Movements - Brutal, Arbitrary and Perverse in total disregard to any legitimate right to peacefully protest or demonstrate. Which, by the way, is the general public's legally provided way to "give direction" to elected representatives.

The following statement in the Times-Standard by Sheriff Mike Downey sheds some light on why.

Downey said he hopes members of the public fed up with the activities in front of the courthouse will go to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors with their concerns. 

"The public generally is no longer in support of what's going on" Downey said. "The public needs to give direction to the Board of Supervisors." [Emphasis added]

Who is this "fed up public" Sheriff Downey is speaking for or representing? Is this not what the Occupy Movement is trying to do, speak for the general, fed up public? Or is he talking only about the people that financed his election? Why does he and Murl Harpham make a distinction between the Occupy Movement who purport to represent the 99% of Americans and the so-called general "public" who obviously only make up 1%?

Herein lies the crux of the issue and goes right to the heart of what happened to Felix Omai and why. The general population that votes believes that they have some say in matters relative to their existence. In other words, they believe that their vote guarantees their recognition and general personal representation. Or, at the very least, a hearing ear and at least some consideration for their needs and wants. What the 99% don't or won't accept is that their vote, as such, is both redundant and irrelevant. The only vote that counts to all elected representatives is the dollar; the more dollars, the more personhood. They know that the one with the most dollars usually always gets voted into office. Hence the attitude of the elected representative toward their supposed constituents is disparaging, demeaning and belittling consistent to their lying acts of betrayal. They see, if at all, the general population as sub or non-human, not much better than and subject to about as much consideration as mongrel dogs. Throw them a few scraps, or lying promises and they'll rollover on command.

The problem is that the select class of ruling elites do not see nor do they hear anything from such people as make up the likes of an Occupy Movement - people that believe they actually count in this system. Did you notice that the only people mentioned by Sheriff Downey that matters are the few fed up people like him making complaints about the Occupy people? Accordingly, those of the Occupy Movement that are trying to express the wants and needs of the majority of people are considered nothing more than a gang of trouble-makers that are a blight on the community, interfering in the affairs of normal people.

What the Occupy Movement has proven is that there is no reasoning or communicating with City or County governments regardless of what they are currently doing. There's only one way to communicate with these elite, exceptional oligarchy that presides over an ever constricting police state. They, the police and their masters, must FIRST see you as an equal. For that to happen YOU must see them exactly for who and what they are and deal with them accordingly. This reality was demonstrated in superb form in the movie Avatar. I suggest all wannabe Occupy Movement people go see it or see it again and this time take a realistic lesson into what it means to become and act like a person worthy of being seen and heard.

Currently there are 106 comments on the Humboldt Herald for their Quote of the Day:

So with this I am suspending all efforts to do anything with the continued assault on the courthouse, the employees and the general public due to the immunity given to them by your [the District Attorney's] office. — Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey in a letter to DA Paul Gallegos regarding the ongoing Occupy Eureka protest outside the courthouse.

Check out some of the local blog-talkers if you think what they say is representative of local opinion. In particular I recommend the comment by Janell Eggar. As someone in the mix or on the firing line, she makes or proofs my article and reason for writing it. Before you can ever hope to talk to someone, let alone communicate with them, you must FIRST get their attention. Only an authentic, legitimate person can do that.

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[UPDATE :: Thursday, March 15, 2012 – Link to SoHum Parlance II – Estelle Event in Fortuna]

Here is the initial statement I made and Eric's reply. 

March 10, 2012 at 3:56 pm

Joe Blow

Still promoting the auction, I see…

March 10, 2012 at 5:28 pm

Eric Kirk

Voted in every election since I turned 18 Joe. It’s not even just about politics. It’s part of what it means to be American. So yes, I’m still “promoting the auction.” Always.

Currently there are over 70 comments on this thread. Many of the comments associated with the above exchange deal with the issue of "Personhood." Without the acceptance and recognition of EQUAL personhood, whether it be by individuals, communities or nations, there can be no meaningful communication and certainly NO peace. Many of the comments and their writers clearly demonstrate the war-mongering attitude of the elitist bully constantly striving to control everyone and everything. To these people, intellectual and ideological diversity and exchange is their pariah. So, be warned.

Once the difference between the common American individual (one of personhood, that of individual legitimacy and value) and the Elitist American God, so aptly demonstrated in this blog thread, I closed down further conversation on Eric Kirk's blog. The simple truth is, there is absolutely nothing you can say that these kinds of self-centered oligarchic elitist will ever hear as long as they believe they are a god. I found it quite interesting that, with just a little coaxing from me, Ernie Branscomb identified and defined this as the very issue alienating him that he thinks justifies his constant litany of degrading, racist insults. 

--Joe

Occupy Eureka – Conflict and Contradiction

There was once a very astute and powerful Japanese Samurai warrior, Miyamoto Musashi. He became famous for his fighting prowess - he was never defeated, in part for writing The Book of Five Rings. A book I read and studied many years ago. He is reputed to say that the battle is won and lost before the first blow is struck. Herein lies the secret of a true master. “The heart of Musashi's ideas is the mind.  The Mind should be pure, uncontaminated by self-serving distortions and preconceived ideas.  The mind should be flexible, able to change shape according to the situation without resorting to rote learning.” (A guiding principle applied by the Joe Blow Report) Musashi proved that harmony within oneself and with the Universe took priority by living a long life and dying of old age.

Another older man that had much to do with the establishment of Christianity once said to a younger man: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” -1 Timothy 4:7, 8. This man's understanding of “godliness” is clearly defined in his, rather extensive writings and coincides nicely with what Musashi said. From my point of view, such people demonstrate the defining qualities of life's value, self-worth, dignity and honor which is demonstrated by their inner sense of power, absolute control and inner calm. Simply put, their actions are totally harmonious with their inner being – what they are is defined by what they do.

How does any of this apply to the Occupy Movement? First question that needs answered is, what does the Occupy Movement intend? Are they acting in harmony with their goals and objectives?

What makes the Occupy Movement different for most all other such social or political phenomena is that it operates completely different from what everyone knows and understands - pure Democracy working from a Horizontal Way. Here on Humboldt Bay you can occasionally see large flocks of black birds flying over the bay. What's striking is how they move and fly as one body. If you observe a flock of geese flying overhead, you'll always see a leader at the head, not so with the black birds. What distinguishes the Occupy Movement is that it is leaderless, yet somehow they have the ability to learn, adjust and move as one, but not in ways always expected. They are an alive, ever evolving and growing movement. They stand for their legitimate rights and when forcibly deprived, they move to another more defensible place. Locally, however, they are still not completely “able to change shape according to the situation without resorting to rote learning.”

By chance I found what is titled the “Occupy Eureka Edition” of what appears as an electronic newspaper dated November 9. 2011. On this page the Occupy Movement states its purpose and goals.

“Our form of protest, shared with tens of thousands across the nation and world, is rooted in the continuous, peaceful occupation of public properties, both day and night, and taking back these places for prolonged periods of me. 

It is a widely shared sentiment that ill motivated entities have acquired control of our Country’s political, economic, and social spheres by deceptive and inequitable means, and are acting to the detriment of the American people. Our intent is to make it clear to all that this is not an acceptable development, and to encourage dialogue that will lead to positive solutions. Please help the Occupy Eureka participants take back the lawn by standing in solidarity. Come give a couple of hours to the Occupation. [Emphasis added] 

Occupy Eureka and Arcata have requested that Porta Potties be established on site, at no expense to the city. This request has been rejected by our authorities. Our local governments are creating a situation that negatively affects the community. The unwillingness to work with protestors will not deter them, nor will it benefit the community at large.”

The above statement is backed up by this comment on Occupy Eureka's Facebook page this morning (11-16-2011).

“Laura Cutler:
Morning! I may not be able to attend General Assemblies for a while due to addressing Occupation related legal matters. I wanted to suggest that folks work on putting together a well attended General Assembly with an agenda item addressing how folks want to make proposals to the County, City of Eureka, etc. during this temporary "truce." One possibility is to put a proposal together that everyone buys into. That may be difficult. Folks might not agree. I suggest folks consider the option of reaching consensus simply that everyone in the occupation and the general public individually make their proposal to all of the agencies involved. With that approach, the occupation continues to support the commitment to allowing all voices to be heard, the agencies will receive many letters to read rather than one, and the agencies will have proposals before them quickly rather than after the weeks or months it might take to get a unified proposal together. Just a suggestion.”

Similar statements of intent with consistent courses of conduct are outlined in the Tuesday, November 15, 2011, edition of the Time-Standard: Occupy Eureka camp raided for a second time; 31 protesters arrested. Regarding,

“Local attorney Laura Cutler said she has been trying to set up a dialogue between city and county officials and Occupy Eureka organizers, but she has yet to hear back from the local government. Some options Occupy Eureka organizers were interested in discussing were moving the encampment to another location in the city and using the courthouse lawn as a place to hold rallies and disseminate information, she said. Cutler said she has been trying to initiate a meeting with local government for the past three weeks.”
"The agencies Cutler has contacted include the Eureka city manager, county supervisors, the sheriff's office, Eureka police, the county administrative officer and the county counsel."
"'Occupy Eureka has expressed interest in having a dialogue about camping issues, but there's been absolute silence from government agencies,” she said. “Any request has gone unheeded.'
Cutler said she wants to continue her role as mediator but has been considering taking part in Occupy Eureka's legal defense and potential civil rights lawsuits."

Ms. Cutler clearly demonstrates the weakness problem afflicting Occupy groups in America. You can talk or you can act (occupy). You cannot threaten, dictate and make accusations, i.e., that the political leaders or public representatives are bought and paid for corrupt and then expect reasonable, peaceful sit-down negotiations. (Turn a deaf ear.) We learned today that cities all across America coordinated their attacks on these camps. The reason no one talked to Ms. Cutler is because no one is the least bit interested in talking. They talk with their police billy club, don't you know?

Right now the police believe they possess their legitimate right to enforce their master's laws any way they see fit. Until these issues, legitimate existence and personal rights, are addressed they will continue to act violently and aggressively.

--Joe

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For some additional followup, Glenn Greenwald has some really pertinent observations.

Will This Work?

Deepak Chopra Leads Meditation at Occupy Wall Street

Here was Deepak’s meditation for the group. “I just want to do a two minute meditation, or even less. Put your hand on your heart and just ask yourself internally what kind of world do I want to live in? And listen. Do it now. And now ask yourself how can I make that happen? How can I make that happen from a place of love, compassion, joy and equanimity? Simple anger will only perpetuate what already is out there. It was created by greed and fear. We have to go beyond that, and come from a place of compassion, centered equanimity and creativity. Once again, ask yourself, how can I be the change that I want to see in the world? Thank you.”

 How do you defeat fear, greed and anger? Deepak says: "[A]sk yourself, how can I be the change that I want to see in the world?" It all starts with you. That's the little known secretive message coming out of all these "Occupy" movements all over the World.

"[A]sk yourself how can I make that happen? How can I make that happen from a place of love, compassion, joy and equanimity? Simple anger will only perpetuate what already is out there." 

What is the answer? How does a calm person working "from a place love, compassion, joy and equanimity" effect ANY positive change? Without HARMONIOUS INTENT, you don't. It's as simple as that.
It's also how you defeat bullies when they believe they have the right to beat you - You stop cooperating with them. You stop giving them permission to beat you. You act with purpose and right. You defend you legitimate right to exist same as everyone else.

So, there you have it - How to occupy and take possession of yourself while taking possession of what is rightfully yours - the Earth.

Locally there are the Occupy Humboldt: Bringing the Revolution to Humboldt and Occupy Eureka movements.  [Source]

--Joe